Five Words That Should Be Banished From The Internet

The Internet hasn’t been any easier on the English language than it has independent bookstores, but Gawker finally drew a line in the sand against the worst of the indignities:

“We want to sound like regular adult human beings, not Buzzfeed writers or Reddit commenters,” new Gawker Editor Max Read says in a memo to the publication’s writers. Words like “epic,” “pwn” and “derp” are no longer welcome on the site. Read also says the word “massive” is “never to appear on the website Gawker dot com.”

I support a ban on “epic” and its brethren, but wonder why “awesome” — perhaps the most overused English language word on the Intertubes — wasn’t similarly scalped.

Not that I’m complaining. It’s a start. (And I massively support the awesomely epic snark aimed at Buzzfeed.)

Every generation’s job description includes the creation of a new vocabulary (also included are rebellion and the idea they invented sex), but that doesn’t mean we have to buy into the less palatable attempts.